Sailing on the Mediterranean

Whew, what a relaxing weekend. A nice way to unwind before I spend the next week holed up in the library writing papers and doing research.
Friday, Esther and I went to Santa Marinella for some beach time. Typical European behaviors were observed: toplessness, Speedo-wearing, paddle ball while wearing said Speedos, leathery tans. But it was lovely to be there though the water was a bit cold. Then Esther went back to Rome and I continued to Ostia. There I met Tamy and 15 other students to go sailing! My boat had 6 other girls on it; the other boat was all ND kids. Out boat was named Doppio Gioco, translated 'double game' aka cheating. Nice. That night while we slept, Tamy and our captain Maurizio sailed us some 60 miles to Palmarola. We woke up on Saturday to bright blue skies, clear Mediterranean waters, and a rocky deserted island. Well, it's deserted except for Fendi's summer villa. Anyway, we all went swimming and explored some caves. Tamy took us out in the dinghy to see some other caves. There were amazing; the water was so clear and blue. A little cold but I've been in much colder water. We climbed on some rocks, laid out on the boat deck, listened to Italian club remixes. Outstanding. I got some sunburn, surprising I know. Then in the afternoon we sailed to the island of Ponza where we docked for the night. It was a cute little town with brightly colored houses and white staircases winding throughout. I've never been to Greece but I'm pretty sure this would be very comparable. It was a quiet place, great to just wander around and relax. We had dinner on the boat then got some gelato. The other boat got a little rowdy and went to the one bar in town, only to have one girl get sick. Good thing I turned in early and was rocked to sleep in the boat. Very relaxing. I like sleeping on boats. It's crowded and if the engine is on or the anchor is being put out, it can be loud. But I like it. The next morning we set out early to sail all the way back to Ostia. It was clear when we left port at 8:30 but around 11 fog rolled in. Very unusual but thrilling. We had to go very slowly because there are lots of rocks in the area and we couldn't see anything. A couple of times we got pretty close to the rocks but were able to turn in time. Being the nerd that I am, I thought about Odysseus and other ancient mariners trying to sail through these waters. It would be terrifying. Anyway, the fog burned off by early afternoon and we had smooth waters all the way back. We stopped once for a quick swim, right out in the middle of the Mediterranean, no land in sight. I took lots of naps on the boat and generally did nothing. We made it back to port around 9:30 last night and then everyone returned to Rome. I was salty, sunscreen-y, and burnt so a shower was imperative. It was an amazing trip; I think I need to get a boat and live on it. But I also need someone to sail it because I don't have those skills yet. So, who wants in on this plan? Everyone. But really, if you get a chance to sail on the Mediterranean, take it. It's beautiful. We lucked out with some gorgeous weather but still...it would be amazing no matter what. Imagine a picture of a white sailboat on deep blue waters with bright blue skies and puffy white clouds behind it. That's what it was like. Perfect.
I want to be back on the boat right now, instead I am procrastinating. Whenever I get around beaches and water, I'm convinced that I should live there. Of course, that's how I feel wherever I am. Wow, that was a great weekend. A nice mini vacation before finals. This weekend it's both Esther's and Pooja's birthdays so we probably going to go somewhere. I don't know where that might be though...Sicily, Croatia, France...all possibilities. It's up to the birthday girls to decide. That will be another nice mini vacation before finals. I'm taking a lot of vacations. From what? I don't know. I certainly haven't been writing my papers. But I am going to start them right now. Maybe.

There's no time!

I only have about 3 weeks left in Rome. Of course I have about 3 more weeks after that to run around but still. No time! Fortunately, travel plans are slowly coming together and it looks like I may be visiting Sicily, Istanbul, Budapest, and Berlin in the near future. These are all tentative so don't hold me to it. But exciting.
Unfortunately, I have approximately 40 pages of academic writing to do before all that. Yikes. I have on page done. Hopefully I'll be able to churn out another 9 tomorrow. A little ambitious.
Lately, around the apartment, I think relationships have cooled. Esther and I are still fine but I'm seeing the others less. We've all had visitors coming and going so it's been hard but it's not even just that. I think, well I speak only for myself here, that perhaps people have realized that though we've lived together for months now, there isn't much else beyond that. I've just gone about doing my own thing which apparently doesn't work for others. There was a small incident just moments ago, nothing big, but suffice to say that one of my roommates may not be pleased with me. I'm being cryptic on purpose. I told her how I felt because I wasn't comfortable with just letting things lie. Perhaps that was a bad idea. I think she was unreasonable and she thinks I was unreasonable. So be it. I know I'm not actually friends with some of them. We just have to live together.
SLEEP! I need more of it.

The Bay of Naples

Bright and early on Saturday morning everyone went to Pompeii. Esther and I had to go for class for the weekend and the other kids were going on a day trip. Tommy and Matt snuck in too. So we saw Pompeii. But I already knew everything there was to know about it. Thanks, Brenda Longfellow! It was cool to see it all in person. The weather wasn't so good though so we didn't get to spend as much time there but I saw the frescoes and the plaster casts. Also stray dogs. Then the class went to a villa at Boscoreale which is just 20 some minutes from Pompeii. It wasn't nearly as interesting as the city but va bene. The class was staying in a hotel in Sorrento but in order to save money and spend time with our visitors, we stayed at a campground just outside town. It was great, though a bit cold at night. But first we had pizza in Sorrento and walked a bit through the town. It's a cute place but definitely a tourist spot. I would go back for a beach weekend though. Much better than Naples, home of pizza and the Mafia.
I woke up super early on Sunday morning to meet my class but Esther decided to skip out so she could be with Matt and Tommy more. Class was great. The weather was perfect. We climbed Mount Vesuvius (it was steaming!) and then went to Herculaneum. Also a cool place. For me at least. A lot of people in the class were less than interested. Their loss. Mike met up with the class there to take our class bus because he wanted to get back to Rome sooner than Esther and the gang would return. So we talked on the way home with Wish too. It was a good trip though tiring. Then I met Pooja for dinner and we hung out for a few hours. It was a nice date. Obligatory late night gelato was eaten at Old Bridge. Stayed up way too late and was a zombie in my classes. Stayed up way to late again last night but it was Tommy's and Matt's last night in Rome so that was ok. Today, after Tommy left, Esther, Matt, and I hung out in the Villa Borghese. So much leisure! Too bad I had to go to class and be a zombie again. Despite the warm sun, there was a freak hail storm this afternoon. Fortunately, I was sleeping inside during class so I didn't get hit/wet. Now, I am playing around, waiting to register for my classes. I love registration!
Also, this summer I will definitely be in the Netherlands! WOOO! I might also get to go sailing in the Greek islands. Have I told you this before? Probably. But you get to hear it again because it's awesome. So even though I know you miss me dearly, I'll only be stateside for a few weeks this summer. I'll be back in August though, just in time for school to start.
One other thing. I have the worst luck with cameras ever. I had already damaged the new one my parents brought for me. But just now when I tried turning it on, it didn't work. There is no explanation for this. I know the batteries are fine. It is entirely too frustrating. Why did this nonsense start happening? I'm not usually one who breaks/loses electronics. Such a waste. I guess I'll just use only disposable cameras.

Finally...

I know, I know. You thought I fell off the face of the earth/got arrested and deported from Italy. Not so. I’ve just been a little busy. Rome has been busy. But it’s ok now. I can tell you what I’ve been up to.
Well, I went to Palm Sunday mass at the Vatican. It was very crowded but not nearly as crowded as other Easter events. I saw the PopeMobile in action. Awesome. Benedict ought to cruise around in that thing more often. I also saw some very formal Swiss Guard uniforms and I saw them do something. That something was preventing old ladies from sneaking their way into the ticketed seating area. They had to physically restrain them. Nice work, guys. It was awesome how excited people were for the Mass though. The usual flag waving and so forth. But I also watched a group of nuns sprint across St. Peter’s Square when it opened so they could get some palms and a good seat. Funny. I went with Fareen who is Muslim so she was a little confused by it all. Especially when they sent the priests out into the square for Communion and everyone was pushing and shoving each other to get some Body of Christ. (I totally got some.) But it was a nice Mass. Mostly in Italian but once again Latin served me well. Anyway, that was a nice day.
Rome was crazy packed with tourists for Holy Week. Hordes. That’s what there were. Hordes. I was also really busy with school. Presentations and so forth. Matt from Madrid was in Rome with his two friends so I hung out with them. Then saved Matt when he missed his flight and let him stay in my apartment. But it was good to see someone from Iowa again. Then Mom, Dad, Galen, and Nolan came to visit me! They arrived on Thursday morning and stayed till Tuesday morning. So they too were part of the horde. But I forgave them that because they brought peanut butter and new camera for me. (Side note: I’ve already damaged the screen of this new one. But va bene. I can still take all the pictures I want.) Anyway, it was wonderful to have them here for Easter. We visited the Forum and the Vatican. They saw the Coliseum while I was at class. And of course we ate well and often. Friends met family and family met friends. I think everyone truly enjoyed each other’s company. We went to the Via Crucis at the Coliseum on Good Friday. There my brothers got to see Benedict for the first time albeit from a fair distance. It was long but good. And more Latin! I can’t even remember what we did the whole time they were here. Gelato. Umm…for Easter we went to Santa Maria in Trastevere. It was a reasonable length of time and though in Italian, I think everyone followed along rather well. We had a leisurely Sunday and Monday. Saw some Caravaggios and sat in the park. Dad was perturbed by all the leisure. And more eating! Thanks for visiting me, family. I miss you all and love you!
Nikki rolled in from Ireland on Sunday night. So she got to hang out with my family and friends too. It was awesome to have her here! I did more tours of Rome. Also headed to the Vatican Museum which was great though very tiring. There is a lot of art in that building. One night, Nikki, Mike, Pooja and I headed out to a bar to watch Roma play Manchester United. Roma lost badly so we didn’t end up watching much of the game. We did hang out with a bunch of high school boys from Chicago who were on a school trip and some pilots who were in Rome just for the night. Both groups were doing their best to be drunk. It was hilarious. I found out I am good at conversing with high-schoolers because I make fun of them when they’ve had too much to drink. That’s nice to know…in a way.
Then on Thursday night, Nikki, Esther, and I went to Termini to pick up Esther’s friend Matt. It was around 11:30 PM so Termini was more shady than usual. The bus there was rather crowded and I was standing up in the aisle. People were pushed up against me. Then I felt my bag jostle a bit. I thought it was just the guy next to me readjusting his coat. But then the movement continued. I could distinctly feel someone rummaging in my bag. So I turned around and I see the man behind me holding my wallet. I had literally caught him in the act of pick pocketing me. So I grabbed my wallet back, shot him a death glare and yelled no. Then the bus stopped and he jumped out and ran away with his buddies. I probably should’ve done more, like yell ‘thief’ or punch him. But I was just glad that I still had my wallet. So that was interesting. Then we had to wait around Termini for awhile because Matt’s plane was late. Termini late at night is not a good place for girls. There were a series of men trying to approach us, as usual. Then one guy tried to talk to us and we kept trying to tell him to go away. Finally he just looked at me and said, “You have sex with me.” Again I used my death glare and shouted ‘no, go away’ in Italian. And he went away. Thanks for all the fun, Termini.
Anyway, once we had collected Matt we all went to see the Trevi Fountain. It’s nice at night, not crowded. Although there was a rat running around. Eh, there are probably lots of them in Rome; what else do the stray cats eat? So we got home around 3 0r 4 in the morning. I took a short nap but then Nikki and I returned to Termini because she had to catch a bus to catch her flight. Daylight makes Termini a much nicer place and it was a smooth send-off. Thanks for visiting me, Nikki! Hopefully we’ll be able to meet up again soon. Berlin? Yes.
On Friday, Esther, Matt, Stacey, and I hung out. Went to the Pantheon, had a delicious lunch, walked around a bit. Then I went to the Vatican to mail some things and hang out and people watch. There an Italian fellow who was sitting near me started talking to me. Apparently he was a poet and I had inspired him. So he gave me the poem and we chatted for a bit. But then I met Stacey and we sat around some more waiting for Esther and Matt to finish their St. Peter’s visit. After that we all went back to Termini to pick up Esther’s friend, Tommy. His bus was in an accident on the way from the airport (nobody was hurt) so he was late. Then we got pizza, watched some street performers in Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, and finally headed home. We lovingly call these particular street performers The Ambiguously Gay uDo. They do acrobatics interspersed among some creative dance while wearing skintight black leotards. Amazing. Anyway, I have to end here for now. Apparently, I have to go to school. But I will write more because this past weekend I went to Pompeii! I know! You’re on the edge of your seat with anticipation. But you’ll have to wait.